Process for making a partially frozen confection



Oct. 15, 1968 LINDSEY 3,405,532

PROCESS FOR MAKING A PARTIALLY FROZEN CONFECTION Original Filed Feb. 8,1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1.

45 FIG. 2.

L ft 42 /0 il 'I 46 24 4 J 30 REFR/G.

INVENTOR E RNEST 5 L/NDSE) BY H/S ATTORNEYS HARE/S, K/EcH, RUSSELL &KEEN 0d. 15, 1968 5 UNDSEY 3,405,532

PROCESS FOR MAKING A PARTIALLY FROZEN CONFECTION Original Filed Feb. 8,1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3. 2 FIG. 5

fjlfili: INVENTOR ERA/557' E L/A/DSEY By H/S A 77'0/QA/EYS HA eve/s,-A7501, Hassle-u. & K52

United States Patent 3,405,532 PROCESS FOR MAKING A PARTIALLY FROZENCONFECTION Ernest E. Lindsey, 4114 Leimert Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif.90008 Original application Feb. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 257,247, now PatentNo. 3,331,691, dated July 18, 1967. Divided and this application July10, 1967, Ser. No. 652,147

11 Claims. (Cl. 62-66) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A process for making acup-retained confection in which an annular mass of frozen material isforced into a cup containing unfrozen material to cause the latter torise in a core space of the frozen material, forming a confection havinga core of unfrozen material surrounded by a sheath of frozen material.

This application is a division of my copending application entitled,Partially Frozen Confection," Ser. No. 257,247, filed Feb. 8, 1963, nowPatent No. 3,331,691.

My invention relates to confection products and to methods and apparatusfor making them. These confections are of the cup-retained frozen typethat may be eaten like an ice-cream cone.

It is an object of the invention to provide a frozen confection in whicha sheath or annular column of frozen material rises from a cup, thefrozen material providing a central space that is filled with anunfrozen material, usually of different flavor than the frozen material.A person consuming the confection from the top thus receives portions offrozen and unfrozen material in sundaelike fashion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a confection in which asmall quantity of the unfrozen core material is present in the bottom ofthe cup. The bottom of the annular column of frozen material is inpressural contact with this unfrozen material as a result of the mannerin which the confection is made, as will be described. If this cup ismade of edible material the last portion of the confection to beconsumed may be some of the cup material flavored by the unfrozenmaterial in the bottom of the cup or portions of the frozen and unfrozenmaterial with the latter in greater abundance. The unfrozen portion inthe bottom of the cup will thus be a taste-lingering portiondistinctively flavored with the residual unfrozen material or a fruitmorsel if this has been placed in the bottom of the cup before placementof the frozen material.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a delicious last biteand assure that all of the edible c-ontainer be eaten and none thrownaway to dirty up counters, floors or walks in the vicinity in which theconfection is eaten.

A further object is to provide a confection in which the small quantityof unfrozen material is in the bottom of the cup in pockets formedbetween upstanding partitions, the annular frozen material extendingdownward substantially to the tops of such partitions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine and novelmethod of making such a confection. In this connection the inventioncomprises a confection made by the use of a machine or method in whichan annular mass of frozen material is caused to enter and contact a poolof unfrozen material in the bottom of the cup or container to cause aportion of the unfrozen material to rise in a central space of theannular column forming a core therefor. This provides a confection inwhich the unfrozen material is in pressural contact with the bottom ofthe frozen material. It is an object of the invention to control theequipment or process so that the unfrozen material rises to a givenlevel in this central space. According to the preferred practice of theinvention it is an object to sever the annular mass substantially atthis level. The upper portion of the core may thus be observed from thetop of the confection thus formed. It is a further object of theinvention to apply a cap or topping of the same or different unfrozenmaterial or an edible morsel such as a nut meat, cherry or strawberry asa decorative and delectable crown for the confection if such is desired.

The outer diameter of the annular frozen mass is preferably such as toseal against the inner wall of the cup at or near the instant in whichthe lower annular end of the mass reaches the surface of the pool ofunfrozen material. It is an object of the invention to control thisouter dimension either by initial forming or as a result of compactionin the cup by the walls thereof. It is a further object of the inventionto employ a frozen material of greater density than the unfrozenmaterial. Relative liquidity of the two materials is a factor in suchdensity and it is necessary that the frozen material of the annular massshould be of suflicient density relative to the lower density of theunfrozen material to increase the pressure in the bottom of the cup andthus cause the lighter material to rise into the core space.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following description of exemplaryembodiments of the confection, method and apparatus.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partially in section, illustratingsomewhat diagrammatically equipment suitable for making the confection;

FIG. 2 is a sectional perspective view of the preferred cup of theconfection;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 represent sequential steps in the making of theconfection;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the severed confection;

FIG. 7 is a view of the same confection to which has been applied adecorative or tasty cap or crown; and

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the confection when formed in acup of different shape than the cup of FIG. 2.

Referring particularly to FIG. 1, the invention employs any suitablefreezing means 10 capable of producing a downwardly-moving annular massof frozen material 11 having a downwardly-open central space 12, themass having an annular lower end 13 which may be smooth or somewhatirregular in shape. The freezing means 10 may take the form of any oneof several freezing machines, preferably of the quick-freeze typedesigned to produce the annular mass 11. The machine shown in my PatentNo. 3,029,615 can be employed using an adapter at the exist end as willbe described. Such a machine may include a freezing chamber 16 formedwithin an upright freezing member 17. An inlet 18 at the top feeds thematerial to be frozen to the freezing chamber. This material may be ofany flavor or a selected flavoring syrup may be added from a hopper 19.

A manifold 20 surrounds an outer wall 21 of the upright freezing member17 to provide a manifold space through which a suitable refrigerant,such as brine, may be circulated as by use of refrigerating equipment 22and inlet and outlet connections 23 and 24.

The material freezing on the inner wall of the upright freezing member17 is continually scraped therefrom and compacted to form the annularmass of frozen material 11. This scraping can be effected by blades 25throughout the height of the freezing chamber 17 turning upon helicalblade 28 turns in and conforms to the periphery of a frusto-conicalpassage 28a of the spout 26.

Any suitable cup 30 can be positioned manually or by the cup-holdingmeans shown, the interior of the cup being in axial alignment with thelowering annular mass 11 from the freezing means 10. As diagrammaticallyshown, the cup-holding means includes a cup member 31 with a socketshaped to receive the cup 30 and a forwardly-open U-shaped spring clip31a holding the cup against turning.

Means is provided for mounting the cup member 31 for vertical movementbelow the lower open end of the freezing chamber 16. Means is alsoprovided for lower ing the cup-receiving member 31 at a rate less thanthe rate of downward movement of the lower annular end 13 of the frozenannular mass 11. As diagrammatically shown in FIG. 1, such means mayinclude a supporting post 33 slidably mounting a collar 34 formed at theend of an arm 35 of the cup-receiving member 31. The cupreceiving member31 may be stationary or may be moved by any suitable mechanism to aid inthe lowering of the cup at a controlled rate. A light spring 36compressed between the sliding collar 34 and a stationary collar 37 atthe bottom of the post 33 can be employed to control the lowering of thecup 30 as the annular mass of frozen material 11 enters it.

The preferred cup of the confection is shown in FIG. 2 and is obtainableas an a article of commerce. It is made entirely of edible materialsimilar to the material of which ice-cream cones are commonly made. Ithas an impervious bottom wall 38, an upwardly diverging side wall 40,which has an inner frusto-conical surface 41, and an outwardly-offsetside wall 42 terminating in a lip 43. Molded within the side wall 42 isa plurality of ribs 45 each of substantially T-shape in cross sectionwith upper ends sloping downward toward the axis of the cup and withlower ends molded integrally with a wall 46 joining the side walls 40and 42. In the bottom of this cup are upstanding partitions 48 extendingtransversely of the interior of the cup in two directions to providepockets 49. The partitions are molded integrally with the cup and are ofthe same material. They provide upper edges 51 for a purpose to bedescribed.

The frozen material of the annular mass 11 may be a frozen fruit juiceor fruit pulp, soft ice-cream, ice milk or any of the so-calledsubstitutes therefor, usually flavored and often distinctively coloredby the flavoring or otherwise. This frozen material may be made of dairyproducts, fruit or vegetable products. A homogeneous mixture ofvegetable oils, sugar, flavoring agent and a stabilizer can be made toproduce a frozen product which is extremely smooth and which appears tohave been made of cre'am--a product in which the crystals are so smallas to be indiscernible to the taste. A typical formulation of thisdevice may include about 2-14% by weight of vegetable fat, about 12-18%of sugar, about 50-70% of canned fruit juice, and about .51.5% of astabilizer, e.g. vegetable gum such as guar gum or a combination ofedible gums. The density or solidity of the frozen mixture may vary butshould be suflicient to permit holding together as an annular mass untilit enters the cup and to perform the other functions to be mentioned.

The unfrozen core material of the confection should be of lower densityor greater fluidity and should be sufficiently flowable to be displacedupwardly in the annular mass 11 as will be described. This unfrozenmaterial may be a suitably flavored whipped cream, whipped-creamsubstitute, meringue, topping, light custard, etc. in color as chosen.

In practice, a pool of the unfrozen material is placed in the bottom ofthe cup, sometimes after -a small fruit morsel has been placed in theextreme bottom. With the cup of FIG. 2 such material may partially orcompletely fill the pockets 49 and will be supplied until the level issomewhat above the upper edges 51, e.g. the level suggested in FIG. 1.The operator may thus place. in the bottom of the cup any unfrozenmaterial of a flavor sug gested by the customer, usually a flavordiffering from that of the frozen material and usually of a colordiffering therefrom. 7

The cup is then held below the freezing machine 10, which is started oractuated to initiate the downflow of the annular mass 11. The outerperiphery of this mass is preferably of such diameter as to engage theinner frustoconical surface 41 of the cup at about the same time theannular lower end 13 engages the surface of the pool of unfrozenmaterial. In many instances it is desirable that such outer peripheryengage such inner frusto-conical surface slightly before the annularlower end engages the pool surface, thus insuring a seal between theperiphery of the frozen annular mass and the inner surface of the cup.This seal will prevent any rise of the unfrozen material around theoutside of the annular mass of frozen material to enter the annularspace therearound within the side wall 42 of the cup. In otherinstances, however, the size relationship may be such as to permit aslight upflow in this latter annular space before a seal is effectedbeween the periphery of the annular mass of frozen material 11 and theinner frusto-conical surface 41 of the cup.

Once the annular lower end 13 of the frozen annular mass 11 engages the.surface of the unfrozen pool of material, any relative downward movementof the former will create a hydraulic pressure on the unfrozen materialcausing it to rise in the central space 12 as suggested in FIG. 3. Itshould be understood that this relative movement can be effected byholding the cup stationary and permitting the annular mass 11 to movedownward therein; by moving the cup upward during the downward movementof the mass 11; by stopping the movement of the mass and raising the cuprelative to the lower annular end 13; or, as is usually preferred, bylowering the cup 30 at a rate less than the downward movement of theannular lower end 13 of the annular mass of frozen material 11.

As this relative movement continues the unfrozen ma terial rises furtherin the central space 12 to form a core 50, progressive positions beingshown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. In the preferred practice of the inventionthe amount of unfrozen material initially introduced into the cup issuflicient to substantially fill the central space 12 at the time theannular lower end 13 of the mass reaches the upper edges 51 of thepartitions 48. The annular mass of frozen material 11 is then severed,preferably at a posi.

tion adjacent the exudation orifice of the freezing machine. If desiredsuch severance can be by twisting or lateral displacement but ispreferably effected by a knife or blade 52, shown in FIG. 1 in aretracted position, this blade having a collared arm 53 pivoted to swingon the post 33. If desired such a blade may be of sufficient area tocover the exudation orifice of the machine.

The severed confection is shown in FIG. 6. In the preferred practice theunfrozen material will have risen to substantially fill the centralspace 12 so that the open top of the confection will show the top 54 ofthe core50 at or near such top. The confection can be sold as such or anadditional cap or crown 56 of the same or different unfrozen materialmay be applied as in FIG. 7 using any applying device ranging from aspoon to a pressurized container delivering a fiuify orwhipped-cream-like material to form the cap. Alternatively or inaddition the confection can be capped with a nut meat or a morsel offruit.

The confection is eaten while the cup is held in the hand. Each bitenormally includes a portion of the frozen material and a portion of theunfrozen material of the core, giving a sundae-like taste. When theupstanding column has been eaten to the lip 43 of the cup later biteswill comprise a composite including a portion of the cup material. Thelast portion of the confection to be consumed will be a taste-lingeringcomposite of the unfrozen material remaining in the pockets 49 and thecup material, thus encouraging complete consumption with no throwaway.The unfrozen materialis usually of such cons-istency as not to be soliquid that it would flow from the pockets 50 when some portion of thelatter is exposed.

It will be appreciated that the relative densities and viscosities ofthe frozen and unfrozen material should be such as to produce thegeneral results desired. The annular mass 11 of frozen material shouldbe of such consistency as to withstand some upward pressure withoutcollapse. It will be appreciated however that as the lower annular end13 enters the cup and moves downward along the inner frusto-conicalsurface 41 there may be some compaction thereof resulting either inaxial elongation or lateral compaction or both. Such lateral compactionmay tend to neck in or partially close the opening at the bottom of thecentral space 12 as suggested in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. Such lateralcompaction may in some instances continue to such a degree as to closeor substantially close the lower end of the central space 12. Thisshould not take place however until the core 50 has risen to the desiredlevel. It will be appreciated also that upward pressure applied by thecup 30 may cause an increase in outer diameter of the annular mass offrozen material 11 between the top of the cup and the point of dischargefrom the freezing means 10. Such outward swelling may take place to theextent suggested in FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 discloses the confection of the invention as made in a cup 70 ofdifferent shape which has no partitions 48 in its lower end and no ribs45 in its upper end. The interior of the cup 70 is generallyfrusto-conical throughout its height from the lip 73 thereof to thebottom 78 thereof. The pool of unfrozen material initially inserted inthe cup may have a surface at approximately the level A--A. The annularmass of frozen material 11 may be initially of an external diametersuggested by the dotted line 80 but may bow outwardly at 81 and neckinwardly at 82 in accordance with the previous teachings. A cap or crown86 may be applied as before or may be dispensed with.

It will be apparent that the confections of the invention can be made bymechanically controlling the movement of the cup 30 relative to thelowering annular mass of frozen material 11 or that the effects abovementioned can be obtained by an operator holding the cup in the hand. Inthe latter instance the cup will be lowered with the exuding annularmass 11 but at a slower rate so as to create the pressure suflicient toforce the unfrozen material upward and form the core 50. Withstandardized densities of frozen and unfrozen material the operator veryquickly learns the technique of making the confections.

Various changes and modifications can be made without departing from thespirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A process for producing a cup-retained frozen confection having acore of unfrozen core material surrounded by a sheath of frozen materialthat is stiffer and less fiowable than said core material, which processincludes the steps of:

(a) placing a pool of said unfrozen core material in the bottom of saidcup;

(b) producing an annular mass of said frozen material having anopen-bottom central space therein;

(c) relatively moving said frozen material and said cup to move saidannular mass of frozen material downwardly into said cup until the lowerportion of such annular mass contacts the surface of said pool ofunfrozen core material; and

(d) continuing such downward movement of said frozen material relativeto said cup to displace upward in said central space a portion of saidunfrozen core material of said pool to form a cup-retained confectionhaving a core of said unfrozen core material surrounded by an annularcolumn of said frozen material.

2. A process as defined in claim 1 including the step of continuouslyextruding said annular mass of frozen material during said downwardmovement thereof relative to said cup, and severing the extrudingannular mass of frozen material after said unfrozen core material hasbeen displaced upward in said central space to fill a major portion ofthe latter.

3. A process as defined in claim 1 including the step of dischargingsaid annular mass of frozen material downwardly from an orifice,stopping the supply of said frozen material from said orifice when saidunfrozen core material from said pool rises in said space to a positionnear said orifice, and severing the annular mass of frozen materialsubstantially at said position.

4. A process as defined in claim 2 including the step of applying a capof edible material to the top of the severed frozen material.

5. A process as defined in claim 2 in which the downward movement ofsaid annular mass of frozen material relative to said cup is stopped andseverance of such annular mass is effected only when said column offrozen material rises a substantial distance above the top of said cup,and controlling the relative movement of said cup and said annular massof frozen material to substantially fill the central space of saidannular mass with said unfrozen material to the point of severance ofsuch annular mass.

6. A process as defined in claim 1 including the step of raising saidcup against the annular mass of said frozen material to effectdisplacement of said unfrozen core ma terial upward in said centralspace thereof.

7. A process as defined in claim 1 including the step of controlling theouter diameter of said annular mass of frozen material to be larger thanthe inner diameter of said cup at a position adjacent said pool toelfect a seal between the outside of the annular mass and the interiorwall of said cup to displace said unfrozen material upward substantiallyexclusively in said central space upon said relative movement of saidfrozen material and said cup.

8. A process as defined in claim 1 in which said cup is formed of ediblematerial, and including the step of stopping the rise of said unfrozenmaterial in said central space at a time to leave a residual portion ofsaid pool in the bottom of said edible cup as a taste-lingering portionlast eaten with the bottom of the cup when said frozen material issubstantially completely consumed.

9. A process for producing a cup-retained frozen confection of selectedflavor having a core of unfrozen material surrounded by and of differentflavor than a sheath of frozen material, the frozen material being ofgreater consistency than the unfrozen material, which process includesthe steps of:

(a) placing a pool of said unfrozen material of different flavor in thebottom of said cup;

(b) progressively freezing a small portion of a selectedflavor materialto form a frozen material of selected flavor, and discharging theresulting frozen material downwardly from an orifice as an annular massof frozen material having a central space therein;

(c) holding said cup with its pool of unfrozen material in the path ofthe lower end of said annular mass of frozen material so that the latterenters the cup;

(d) relatively moving said cup and such lower end of said annular massto bring the latter into engagement with the pool of unfrozen materialand create sufiicient pressure in the bottom of said cup to cause saidunfrozen material to rise from said pool into the central space of saidfrozen mass to form a column of such frozen material rising above thetop of said cup and filled with a core of such unfrozen material to agiven level; and

(e) severing the annular mass of frozen material near such given levelto produce said confection.

10. A process as defined in claim 9 including the step of applying a capof edible material to the top of the severed frozen material, said capbeing of such lateral dimension as to cover said space and a largeportion of the severed top of the annular mass.

11. A process as defined in claim 9 in which said cup is made of ediblematerial and has a stop means above the bottom interior thereof forminga holding space for 8 said unfrozen material within the cup at aposition below said stop means, the amount of unfrozen materialinitially introduced into the bottom of said cup being more thansufiicient to fill said holding space, said relative movement of saidcup and said lower end of said annular mass being continued until thelatter is brought into engagement with said stop means.

- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,062,277 11/1936 Routh 62-342X 2,094,354 9/1937 Genova 62-354 X 2,671,646 3/1954 Lindsey 62-354 X2,713,474 7/1955 Read 259-43 3,274,958 9/1966 Otken 107-54 ROBERT A.OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

W. E. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner.

